How can I make a special display for UnLiving Portraits?

Our UnLiving Portraits collection contains lots of display options. There are both framed and frameless versions of the decorations designed for both TV and projectors. This means you can either choose to display the frames built into the framed videos, or use your own physical frame around the frameless TV or projector versions.

Using a Physical Frame

Lots of decorators have bought or built their own frames for this display! The physical frame(s) should have a 4:5 aspect ratio (i.e. 4x5, 16x20, 20x25, etc.), but as long as it confirms to that ratio, the frame can be as big or small as you'd like. Of course, the size of the image you project will depend on the throw of your projector and its distance from the wall, or the size of your TV display.

Using HD TV displays

One of the best ways to display our UnLiving Portraits decorations is on a widescreen HD television rotated 90 degrees to a vertical position. There is also a version for horizontal displays which includes all 3 portraits interacting.

Many smart televisions can accept an SD card and/or USB to play our MP4 format video files, but they may not allow you to loop your playlist or play more than one file in a row. To have complete control over the decorations you may need to connect to a computer or an external media player. Be sure to check the product manual on your television to find out if you need an extra playlist device.

Syncing Three Displays

The Digital Download version of UnLiving Portraits includes a "singles" version of the decoration which is not available on the DVD.

The "Singles" folder in the collection contains each of the three characters interacting in different video files for simultaneous display, which is perfect if you have three displays you can sync together.

You may be able to hit "Play" on three separate devices for a near perfect sync. For a truly perfect sync, you'll need to shop for a video "Multiviewer." Be warned, these devices can get pretty expensive!

Creating Seamless Transitions

The Digital Download also includes transition files to seamlessly switch between different characters on your display, as well as "buffer" files that will allow your portraits to appear still in their normal, human forms. You can use these in your playlist to create long pauses between the action.

Creating "Trigger" Effects

You can also use the buffer files to accomplish impressive "trigger" effects. This is an advanced decorating technique which requires special equipment to accomplish, and that equipment is usually not cheap.

FrightProps sells a video playback device with trigger functions for just this type of decorating. The device can loop the buffer file until the next video is triggered by an external button or switch. There's even a helpful tutorial video on the store page to show you how it works. You can check it out that page by clicking here.